Trusting Clovers
by SEEKER-2000
Summary: Sequel to THE LUCKIEST. Four & 1/2 years after Spinelli and Maxie became engaged, fate puts their luck to the test. A mob war is made even more difficult as the couple deal with their child's disability, and Spinelli's past comes back to haunt him. Spixie
1. Chapter 1

**Trusting Clovers **

**Prologue: Such a Way With Words**

They were the epitome of irony. If anyone questioned the logic of how these two people came together, the only simple response was to acknowledge that something in the universe loved pulling strings in amusing ways. He never won, she always lost. It was only when they got on the same team that the game was finally changed, and what a force they were to watch together. As strange as they were, people who knew them recognized there was only two options for their romance: either they would destroy the world, or conquer it. Those were the choices, and people sat back quietly waiting to see the outcome of either, because God knows it would be spectacular either way.

But, back to the irony. Anyone who knew Damian Spinelli understood one thing above all else: _he was going to talk, and you were going to listen_. You might not understand a thing he said, and he wouldn't oblige many explanations, but damn if he couldn't teach you the definition of the world ramble and all its thesaurus suggestions too. Rant, tirade, lecture, speech…He could do all of them, and then some. In one sitting with The Jackal you could expect to learn about Roman gods and Shakespeare's sonnets. It was best to bring a notebook and a tape recorder in order to explore further readings later on the things he had to offer.

Then, there was Maxie "Don't Forget The Sassy" Jones-Spinelli. If there was anyone in the world that could render Damian Spinelli speechless, it was the gunpowder-meets-spark blonde. To say she talked a lot would be like suggesting Leonardo da Vinci drew on occasion. Indeed, it was an art form to her. It seemed that Maxie believed if she talked, and talked, and kept on talking, eventually she would get to whatever point she was trying to make, and if she couldn't maybe she would just tire out any dissenters until they simply gave up and agreed with her.

They were crossfire, rapid fire, or just fire. Whatever you wanted to categorize them as, The Spinelli's had a knack for communication, a style, a flare. They were aficionados. What was even stranger than seeing them talk with the people that crossed their paths was seeing how they spoke to one another. It was its own layer of beauty. He would murmur out of the side of his mouth, low and quiet words that only she seemed to understand. She would reply back with a smirk on the corner of her lips, short abrupt phrases.

It was as if when they were together, they spoke with inside jokes and breathy secrets. This made it harder for others to understand them; maybe if they could be in on the jokes and secrets, they could comprehend the strange pair better. How could two people who seemed so different work so well together on an ethereal level?

In the early days it was speculated that they simply bonded over the unexpected pregnancy of their son, Caleb. As time passed, however, it became clearer and clearer just how wickedly clever fate could be. They weren't just being civil for the sake of responsibility. Perhaps they would have never taken a second glance at one another if it hadn't been for the baby, as many brief intimate connections had a tendency to fizzle.

Sometimes the universe just…finds a way.

Getting the two to the altar had been a feat. They attempted a wedding three times, which in retrospect seemed to only fit them more and add to their legend. Of course, it couldn't be as simple as just walking down the aisle and saying some vows. No, the first time around, Maxie had wrecked her car and spent the time that would have been their wedding, reception, and honeymoon in intensive care while Spinelli was told he had to "make plans, just in case". By then, their baby trying out his first steps in the waiting room of General Hospital had rendered the only smile Spinelli was seen with for weeks.

A very stubborn and angry Maxie quickly recovered, scoffing at how a measly thing like internal injuries and near death experiences had kept her perfect day from being perfect. Now the flowers would be out of season, the venue would be have to be rebooked _("Spinelli, do you know how hard it was to get that ballroom in the first place?"_), and of course her dress would be so passé by the time she walked down the aisle after the ordeal. Some couldn't believe how messed up her priorities were after such a stressful event, but Spinelli could only weep with relief that his life was getting back to normal.

The second time was much simpler. Spinelli and Maxie found themselves in Vegas trying to track down Lulu after her latest breakup with Johnny. While debating why Lulu would go to the city of sin of all places to forget her troubles, Spinelli spotted a little white wedding chapel advertising an Elvis minister and he sarcastically remarked that they could kill two birds with one stone. Maxie called him on his bluff and they were only seconds from "I do" before they jointly agreed that they didn't, and would prefer to get married with their friends and family like they originally planned.

So the pair stood at an altar, finally, on their third attempt in a much smaller ceremony than originally planned, where their friends and family waited with baited breath to see Spinelli and Maxie do what they did best: Speak.

And they did, blubbering and shaking and making everyone in the room a mess of emotions with them. She clutched his hands as if pressing her words into the palms forever; he leaned forward in such a way that his vows only really reached her ears.

"_I will never call you an angel or a miracle…because you don't like it…but that doesn't stop me from thinking it…"_

"_I, Maxie, take you Damian, and you Spinelli, and The Jackal too, to be my husband…"_

"_I'm the hacker, but you took the time to decode me…That didn't sound as cheesy in my head…" _

"_You pulled me out of a shallow grave. No! No, Spinelli, you did, and you know it." _

"_You've given me the family I never thought it would be my pleasure to have…"_

"_With you, the future is…it's so bright, Spinelli…You make it bright!" _

The words would echo for years. Anyone who was there in the moment would tell you they could still hear the reverence with which the young couple spoke. Not a dry eye in the audience, one for the books.

Spinelli had his poetry, Maxie had her prose. They had been, and always would be, defined by their language.

Which, of course, was ironic…considering their son (now five years old) had never spoken a single word.

* * *

**Author's Note: Ask and you shall receive. Welcome to the sequel to "The Luckiest". You will have to read that story before you can understand this one. Some tell me it's worth the read. :D **

**I can't promise frequent updates, as I am writing this fic and "Deep Roots"…but I will try my best. Summer is coming, which means one of two things: I'lll have a lot of free time, or no free time. **

"**Trusting Clovers" refers to the four-leaf clover, the good luck charm. I found it fitting. **

**Read? Now review! Thanks dudes. **

**Next Chapter: Meet the Spinelli's, 4 and a half years after The Luckiest. **


	2. Greetings From Miami

**Trusting Clovers**

**Greetings From Miami **

_**Dear Damian,**_

_**Hope my letter finds you well. I was sorry to hear about your Grandmother's passing. I would have come to the funeral if I had known about it but the news reached me only recently. Actually, that is the reason I am writing to you. I am forwarding you a copy of a message I got in the mail yesterday. I know this might come as a shock to you...** _

Spinelli stopped reading the letter and shoved it back into its envelope. He couldn't do this right now. These were old wounds, and his life was balancing on the edge of a knife as it was, dealing with life as a husband and a father to a (Spinelli groaned at the thought) handicapped child, trying to keep his life legitimate and outside the criminal underworld of his past as bed he could. There were bigger issues than the problems presented in the letter. Opening the top drawer of his desk, Spinelli slid the envelope inside, underneath a few files, pressing it as far into the back as he could. Out of sight, out of mind, for now at least. Spinelli leaned back in his chair and took a long drag on his joint, hoping his nerves would soon stop tickling the insides of his veins. He exhaled. The smoke billowed above him and he watched it as it curled.

Spinelli ran his hands through the smoke slowly, but he knew you couldn't catch smoke.

He glanced once more at the top drawer of the desk.

..But where there is smoke, there is fire.

* * *

"Hey there, baby." Maxie cooed, smoothing some of Caleb's messy tendrils. He scrunched up his face and buried his face in Mac's shoulder, peaking at her from one blue eye. The ice cream he was holding came dangerously close to the pocket on his grandfather's shirt. Maxie laughed at his attempt to act coy and reached out her arms for him, waiting patiently for him to come to her. Mac eased the ice cream cone from his hand and Caleb quickly shuffled from him to her. Pressing him close, Maxie kissed him on the cheek and wiped a smudge of chocolate off the corner of his lips. Caleb closed his eyes and looked about ready to turn in for good.

"He's tired," Maxie smirked, swaying him just a little. She turned her attention back to her father. "Thank you for taking him to his speech therapy today…Spinelli got a case this morning he hadn't planned on…"

"You know it's not a problem, Maxie. Sharon said he is doing fine with his signing…"

"But…?"

"But, No attempt to talk, as usual."

Maxie sighed. She was resigned to believe that Caleb would start talking when she least expected it, certainly not on command. He was stubborn like her, unyielding like Spinelli. Maxie chanted the word "patience" over and over in her mind, knowing one day she'd hear his voice.

Speaking in a lower tone, Maxie muttered to Mac. "What's frustrating is that we know he understands us, you know Dad? And he's got to start school next year…"

"One day at a time, Maxie."

"Yeah…Anyways, what did you guys do afterwards? I see ice cream was on the agenda…"

"We went to the park. He played on the swings. Then he found a beetle and he decided he needed to show me. I thought he was handing me a rock or something…Scared me out of my wits when the thing started squiggling around in my hand. He thought that was funny."

Maxie snorted at the image of her stoic father freaking out over a bug, and then laughed even harder at the idea of her son being that innocently naïve or diabolically sneaky. Spinelli would find that amusing.

"His daddy's been reading him a book all about gross icky insects, right Caleb?" She looked down at him reposing sweetly in her arms. Caleb slowly nodded his head but didn't open his eyes. He was always so apathetic with everything, did things on his own time. No one was going to rush him into speaking when he was perfectly satisfied doing more important things like eating ice cream and playing with bugs. Communicating was such a mundane task, too boring for his busy schedule. Well, Maxie thought to herself, the next thing on her little busybody's to do list was to get a nap.

Mac bent down and kissed her forehead then ruffled Caleb's hair that she had just neatly adjusted. "Got to get back to the station". She smiled at him and nodded understandingly as he headed out the door.

"Time for a nap, silly kid."

Caleb was already asleep.

* * *

Maxie settled onto the couch in the living room, looking over the back to watch the sun go down. Spinelli should have been home and hour ago, as was his usual schedule working at his private investigation office, and she was starting to get worried. Knowing Spinelli as long as she had and being as intimate as they were made her very keen on his habits. Sticking to schedules was one of them. It probably had to do with the fact that he was so methodical and calculating, his one track mind allowing for few deviations. That was one thing that she loved about him, really. Spinelli was reliable.

She drummed her fingers along the fabric of the couch. Where was he?

As the thought entered her mind, the phone went off. Maxie launched from the couch and hastily answered it without looking at the caller ID, hoping it was him finally calling to tell her what was going on.

"Spinelli?"

A pause, and then an intake of breath on the other end of the line.

"Excuse me, who is this?" Maxie demanded.

"I'm…" a woman's voice began. She had the rasp of a smoker. "I was hoping to speak to Mr. Damian Spinelli."

"Yeah, um, gotta know who's calling asking for my husband before I just hand the phone over to him. Thanks."

Maxie didn't know why the caller was putting her into such a defensive mode, but it didn't sit well with her. The voice was oddly familiar and yet Maxie knew she'd never spoken to this woman before.

"Husband?" the woman questioned.

"Yup. Spinelli. My husband, father of my child, really good with computers, terrible fashion sense...And who the hell are you?"

Another pause. More silence, and then a deep breath. "I see. You've given me all I needed to know. Thank you."

Before Maxie could snap back a response, there was a click and the call had been dropped. She stood still for a moment, trying to figure out exactly what that had been about. She felt like she had just stumbled into the part in a movie where the dutiful wife realized her husband had a double life and it was all about to down in flames. Mysterious female callers were the first step in a series of events that usually led to bad, bad things.

"Who was on the phone?" Spinelli's voice rang out. Maxie jumped. She hadn't heard him come in he was so quiet.

"I was going to ask you," Maxie growled, spinning on her heel as she tried to search through the calls received option on the phone to get the number of the woman.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I just got a call from a woman asking for you who quickly ended the phone call when I told her I was your wife. You want to tell me why that isn't freaky?"

Spinelli took the phone from her and looked at the number that was displayed on the screen. Maxie hadn't realized how haggard he looked until they were up close like this. He'd been pulling on his hair again, a strange habit that got stronger when he was nervous she noticed. She could tell by the way all of his hair would lay flat except for a clump just behind his ear that stuck out. It was usually his biggest tell that something was wrong with him, something he didn't want to talk about, something she would have to pull out of him, after she got over her sudden onslaught of frustration.

When Spinelli registered the number on the phone, he closed his eyes quickly and sighed. Maxie's frustration was slowly turning into panic in his continued delay of a proper explanation.

"So?"

Spinelli handed her back the phone and began tugging his jacket off forcefully.

"You gotta say something, Spinelli, before I start thinking you're having an affair or something…"

Her only response was a glare that caused her stomach to sink. Only two things upset Spinelli enough to make him look at her like that—when they talked about their half deaf son's difficulties, and when someone brought up his parents. Since Maxie was pretty sure the call had nothing to do with Caleb's problems, as Spinelli was slowly but surely coming to terms with that topic, she decided his emotions had to do with the latter.

Spinelli ran his hands through his hair, absentmindedly tugging on the strands behind his ear, not looking her in the eye. She let him have a moment to collect his thoughts. Maxie realized he was staring at an old photograph that sat atop a bookshelf by the door, a small picture Spinelli had found of him as a child with his father.

"What is it, Spin?"

He cleared his throat. "I got a letter from my Uncle…You remember…"

"Riley. Yes…we haven't heard from him in a while…Is he okay?" Maxie thought it best to try and ease him into whatever confession he was about to make. Maxie liked Riley. He was quiet and adored having his dead brother's son back in his life after years of absence.

"He's fine."

"So…what's the issue?"

"That phone number, the area code is from Miami."

"Miami…beaches…fun in the sun…"

"My uncle forwarded me a letter he received, post marked Miami."

Maxie stared, trying to connect the dots. When she thought of Miami, she thought of teeny bikinis and getting a tan and, hey, they should take Caleb to the beach again because he was so cute the last time splashing in the water…She couldn't think of a reason as to why this was so upsetting to Spinelli.

"Spell it out to me like I'm for, Spin."

"My mother, Maxie. She's trying to get in contact with me."

Spinelli looked defeated, and Maxie had no idea how she could console him. That voice on the phone, raspy and hard, and oddly familiar with its cadence. The odd pauses, the unsaid shock at Maxie declaring Spinelli to be her husband. It was a call from a woman who never thought things could change, that an abandoned child could grow into a man and make a life for himself. Maxie knew where this was going, whether any of them wanted it to or not.

It was so easy to slice open a wound when it never healed properly in the first place.

"Oh Spin, I'm so sorry."

* * *

Author's Note: Thanks for continuing to read this story…I would suggest going back to The Luckiest and re-reading the plotline regarding Spinelli's parentage for you to better understand this story. Quick recap: Spin's father, Andrew, is dead; and Spin's mom abandoned him, essentially trading her life as a mother to feed a mean drug habit.

Can't say I will update that frequently, but I'll dabble with it on occasion. Reviews of course always inspire. I'll try to get more Caleb/Family interaction in the next chapter.

BTW: If you liked the new Star Trek movie, I've done two fics for it...Boldly Go: Twenty Setences and Boldly Go: Lifetime. Check it out!


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